Would you like to know how the leading company in the electrical equipment distribution sector managed to obtain
full visibility over the assets it manages, in the face of a very large and widespread distribution network?
Are you ready to find out how MEF came to know all the relationships between objects, licences and allocations?
And how did this enable it to enhance the value of its management in terms of costs and utilisation?
We will show you how the IT manager identified the critical element and how the accurate integration of the necessary information into one tool eliminated any silo and enabled more effective management.
MEF (Materiale Elettrico Firenze) is a multi-specialist company in the electrical material sector. Since 2015 it has been part of the WURTH group in the W.E.G. division, i.e. the section dedicated to the worldwide distribution of electrical and thermo-hydraulic material.
With its 45 sales outlets in 5 regions and a logistics centre serving distribution, it is one of the major references for professionals in the sector.
HEADQUARTERS
Florence
1
Logistic center
5
Regions
45
sales outlets
HAVE A COMPLETE VIEW
OF THE ASSETS UNDER MANAGEMENT.
With a very large and widespread distribution network with more than 45 points of sale in 5 regions, inventorying only the hardware component within the management system was not sufficient to manage the life cycle of IT assets.
Information on purchase costs, contracts, software licences and allocations was available but fragmented in different systems: this penalised management because the relationships between objects, licences and allocations were not obvious and it was difficult to make accurate cost analyses, especially according to the people and departments involved.
When planning new purchases, maintenance, renewals or decommissioning, MEF's IT team did not have a complete view of all the information about the assets (and their costs). Not having an eye on the expiry dates of guarantees and contracts assigned to that particular asset, for example, could lead to unintended activations or missed opportunities. The desire to optimise asset management drove MEF to look for a solution that could break down information silos.
«We felt the need for a solution capable of integrating the entire inventory part when it came to hardware, software and employees. Our goal was to achieve advanced hardware management that would allow real-time control of all the resources in the company, but the system we had was not able to standardise and track all the interactions between objects, licences and people».
CENTRALISE INFORMATION
RELATED TO IT ASSETS.
As the management software used for asset management was limited to the inventorying of the hardware component only, MEF relied
on WEGG's ITAM expertise for the choice and implementation of a single tool that could centralise and standardise the information
available, so that it could be easily correlated.
To offer a complete and accurate management overview, the solution had to have advanced capabilities to support different data sources
and integration with third-party platforms, as well as the possibility of customisation to offer views tailored to MEF's needs.
After a careful software selection, the choice fell on Easyvista technology.
The elimination of any silo related to asset management led to an integration into the tool of all necessary information, step by step: to the inventory part, i.e. all HW and SW inventory information, information related to product purchase costs («finance simple») and contractual information (manteinance, service channel, insurance, etc.) was added later.
The reporting obtained facilitates and automates the management of assets: it is possible, in fact, to keep track in real time of the interactions between objects, licences and people, to better manage deadlines and renewals, and to make Business Intelligence analyses to understand the incidence of costs, based on the role/department in charge of the asset.
«The benefits have been many,» says Francesco Orlando, Director of IT Services, «but if I had to think of the first one I would say the immediate view of IT assets. The fact of having the entire data history of an asset at the click of a mouse is fundamental for us».
ONE VIEW
FOR IT ASSET MANAGEMENT.
The project required the customisation of Easyvista's components to MEF's needs.
The first phase focused on making the tool operational: after the initial installation and configuration activities, the system was interconnected with other third-party tools in the company and the various stakeholders in the asset management process - after being mapped according to their role - were given the necessary access rights and views.
The next steps saw the loading and normalisation of all asset data into a single view.
The information integrated in the tool is multiple and involve multiple company instruments. In the last period, the information base has been enriched bymore complex data such as management of leasing and rental contracts and the part relating to consultancy management orders and IT projects.
Integration with SAP for economic information (asset books, depreciation) and the invoicing and ordering component allowed for more accurate and complete cost management , also depending on the role and/or department of personnel.
According to MEF, WEGG's contribution was decisive because of the competence demonstrated, with logical and result-oriented sense. "All indispensable elements," explains Orlando, "for the choice and use of a product!"
RESULTS & BENEFITS.
FULL VISIBILITY
Advanced knowledge
of your fleet
CONTROL
Advanced monitoring
of the life cycle
SUPPORT
Project Success
«This project is useful for those companies that want to achieve advanced IT asset management that allows real-time control of all resources in the company. Information is available in the company, but we need to centralise it in order to be able to relate it effectively. We have gone from fragmented management to a single view from which we can make better decisions about asset utilisation and costs. We have improved the way we work».
Would you like to optimise the lifecycle management of IT assets?
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